ForeFlight Mobile v2.4 Launches in the iPhone App Store

Posted on August 27, 2009 by foreflight

Routes and METARs in ForeFlight Mobile v2.4

We’re proud to announce ForeFlight Mobile v2.4, now available in the iPhone App Store.  This is the latest update to our flagship app, and it’s a big one!

  • Newly designed METAR view that makes viewing encoded, decoded, and nearby METARs easier; METARs are now viewable when offline.
  • Newly designed TAF view that elegantly organizes translations and highlights the current forecast period.  TAFs are now viewable when offline.
  • Newly designed Winds Aloft view that elegantly organizes wind and temperature data and highlights the current forecast.  Winds Aloft are now viewable when offline.
  • New personal preference settings that lets you select units for wind speed, temperature, pressure, and visibility.  Great for international customers or customers that prefer viewing temperature in Fahrenheit.
  • New personal preference setting to hide old TAF translations.
  • New feature that saves the last airport displayed and reloads that airport the next time you restart ForeFlight.
  • Weather for your recently viewed and favorite airports is downloaded and stored on device automatically.
  • New trip estimator that accepts airport identifiers, ground speed, and fuel burn and computes ETE, burn, total distance, leg distance, leg ETE, and leg fuel burn; displays leg and trip details in a flight log view that includes current flight rules for each stop.
  • Enhanced search interface that accepts airport identifiers, ground speed, and fuel burn and estimates trip details.
  • New routes view that provides access to previously estimated trips when offline.
  • Updated recents and favorites views to show the current altimeter setting and temperature/dewpoint for each airport, when available.
  • New TFR imagery collection in the Images catalog
  • New “help bubbles” that show how to use the Search view
  • DUATS account settings (optional) – use your own DUATS account for filing flight plans
  • Greatly improved performance
  • Many bug fixes, including a common flight plan filing form crash bug

Already a user?  Like all v2.x releases, this is a free update.  Learn how to update the app on your iPhone.

Ready to come on board?  ForeFlight Mobile v2.4 is available in the iPhone App Store for $74.99.

We couldn’t be more proud of ForeFlight Mobile!  It took months of development and testing to get every detail right, but we’re confident our users will enjoy the new standard in Preflight Intelligence™.

TAFs and Winds Aloft in ForeFlight Mobile v2.4

Filed under: ForeFlight Mobile, Update | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

Announcing AOPA Airports, Now in iTunes App Store!

Posted on May 18, 2009 by foreflight

We’re thrilled to announce that a shiny new iPhone app – ‘AOPA Airports, Powered by ForeFlight‘ – is now available for download from iTunes App Store! The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and ForeFlight partnered to bring this must have know-before-you-go airport information to the iPhone and iPod touch.  The application is a free download and is usable at no charge to current  AOPA members. ForeFlight Mobile customers also get access to this important information resource via a free update coming soon.

aopa-airports-logo

If you are not familiar with the AOPA, read Thomas Horne’s article about the how the AOPA has helped shape aviation.  If you are not familiar with ‘General Aviation‘ (GA),  visit http://gaservesamerica.com to learn about our rare freedom, the importance to our economy, and how all of us benefit.  

Launching the AOPA Airports application is a great way for the ForeFlight Team to help celebrate AOPA’s 70th birthday and pledge our support for its mission. The challenges to GA are constant and often ill-conceived. A strong voice that speaks on behalf of GA and pilots is essential in protecting this rare freedom.

If you aren’t a member, join.  If your membership has lapsed, renew.  If you aren’t involved, act.  If you’ve thought about learning to fly, go! 

Happy 70th birthday, AOPA!  

Members, go get the app and send feedback!

 

AOPA, ForeFlight Partner to Offer AOPA Airport Directory
On iPhone™, iPod touch Platforms

Frederick, MD – Effective immediately, AOPA members who use an Apple® iPhone or
iPod® touch can have direct access to AOPA’s Airport Directory on their devices. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has partnered with ForeFlight, a leader in aviation applications for the iPhone and the iPod touch, to offer the complete directory as a download that is free to AOPA members. The application, called AOPA Airports, is available for download today from the iTunes App Store.

“The iPhone and iPod touch are tremendous platforms with exciting capabilities that make them ideal for aviation related applications,” said Chris O’Callaghan, AOPA’s vice president of ePublishing. “And there is no one who exploits those capabilities better than ForeFlight.”

“ForeFlight was founded by pilots, for pilots, and we believe strongly in our products – we use them extensively when we fly,” said ForeFlight co-founder Jason Miller. “We’re proud to have earned AOPA’s trust, and to have been selected as the exclusive iPhone and iPod touch application provider for AOPA’s Airport Directory.”

As with the print edition of AOPA’s Airport Directory, data in the ForeFlight electronic version cover airport info, FBOs, airport services, and more.  Features include a download manager for keeping the data up-to-date every 56 days, thousands of airport diagrams, features for saving favorite airports and recently viewed airports, and finding nearby airports.

The AOPA Airports application can be downloaded on its own from the iTunes App Store, but  the directory will also be made available within ForeFlight’s flagship iPhone application, ForeFlight Mobile, the premier flight-planning software for the iPhone and the iPod touch. Both applications take full advantage of the iPhone’s intuitive Multi-Touch™ user interface.

“We are doing this to support AOPA’s mission,” said Miller, “and to leverage the unequalled power of the iPhone/iPod touch platform for the benefit of the members.”

“It’s also a great way for pilots to go green by reducing the amount of paper they use,” concluded O’Callaghan. “It brings one of AOPA’s oldest and most popular member benefits into the future.”

ForeFlight’s mobile aviation software, designed and built specifically for iPhone and iPod touch, delivers Preflight Intelligence™ and Inflight Intelligence™ to thousands of pilots around the world. ForeFlight’s other aviation products include ForeFlight Checklist Pro, ForeFlight File, and ForeFlight Desktop.

With more than 415,000 members, representing 70% of all pilots in the United States, AOPA is the largest, most influential aviation association in the world. AOPA has achieved its prominent position through effective advocacy, enlightened leadership, technical competence, efficient partnerships, and hard work. Providing member services that range from representation at the federal, state, and local levels to legal services, advice, and other assistance, AOPA has built a service organization that far exceeds any other in the aviation community.

More information about the AOPA Airports application, including screenshots and demonstration videos, is available at http://www.aopa.org/iPhone.  More information about ForeFlight and their other applications is available on their website at http://www.foreflight.com.

Filed under: AOPA Airports, Update | 5 Comments »

ForeFlight Mobile v2.2 released

Posted on January 27, 2009 by foreflight

ForeFlight is pleased to announce a new release of ForeFlight Mobile is now available in the App Store.

Here’s what’s new:

  • More weather ensembles, including Alaska, Icing, Turbulence, PIREPS
  • Swipe-to-delete airports and routes from Recents lists
  • Improved memory management during database and image downloads
  • Improved zoom controls on loop doppler views
  • More frequent weather updating at the top of the hour so that new observations are displayed rapidly
  • Option to display weather first when tapping a recent airport and show wx report times as local (find these options in the main system settings application)
  • Substantially improved TAF and METAR processing
  • Flight plan email confirmations now include weather observations for departure and destination points
  • Dramatically improved server performance including database download times in as little as 30 seconds over cable modem or WiFi
  • Fixed issue where trying to view an approach plate or detailed airport diagram caused a crash
  • Keyboard shown for True Airspeed in file form is now the large number pad
  • Minor improvements to route searching and viewing
  • iPhone now prevented from dimming and going to sleep while downloading and installing new data
  • Bug fixes and additional performance improvements

Filed under: ForeFlight Mobile, Update | 9 Comments »

New Checklist templates

Posted on December 22, 2008 by foreflight

new_templatesWe just added the Cessna 182RG and Cessna 172R to our template collection for ForeFlight Checklist!

To download them:

1. Launch ForeFlight Checklist
2. On the main screen, tap the “+” in the top-left corner to add a new checklist
3. Tap “Select Checklist Template”
4. Tap the reload icon in the top-right corner.  It will take approximately 20 seconds to download.  Once it is complete, the new templates will show up in the list under the Cessna section.

Filed under: ForeFlight Checklist, Update | 4 Comments »

ForeFlight 2.1 Released

Posted on December 21, 2008 by foreflight

Apple just posted the latest version of ForeFlight Mobile to the App Store!  This is our biggest update yet and includes a few substantial improvements.  One of the most significant new additions is that our global airport database is now stored right on your iPhone.  This includes data on approximately 27,000 airports and over 1,200 illustrated airport diagrams showing FBO locations.  We completely redesigned the airport information user interface and included additional airport and runway details, runway orientation graphics, operation hours, sunrise and sunset calculations, and more.

We have worked on version 2.1 for the past two months and spent many hours working to achieve a level of quality that reflects our core development and design objectives.  We had a crack team of beta testers helping us out with this release as well, and the result is an update we’re very excited to have made available.  A huge thanks to @Captain_Ron and Erik Hake for their invaluable feedback.

Here’s a list of the main new features:

  • Airport data for approximately 27,000 landing facilities stored on disk (Hooray !!!).
  • A download manager for keeping your database up to date (!!).
  • Completely redesigned airport information pages with more detail, visual runway orientation, and much more (!).
  • Greatly improved flight plan filing system, including Next and Previous buttons on the flight plan form, flight plan copy and delete, flight plan “fix” feature for those that fail to file for any reason, detailed email confirmations, and a filed confirmation code.
  • More weather imagery, including winds aloft.
  • Over 250 new airport thumbnail diagrams showing FBO locations on the field.
  • More airport details, including sunrise and sunset, timezones, operating hours, airport coordinates, and runway elevations.

Plus 131 bug fixes or additional feature enhancements such as:

  • Fixes to work better with firmware v2.2.
  • New “nearby airports” button on airport details view.
  • Visibility shown in weather summary on recents and nearby airports lists.
  • Minor fixes for route searching and viewing.
  • Performance improvements.
  • More phone numbers for AWOS/ATIS frequencies.
  • Data expiration information.

Race on over to the App Store and grab the update!

If you are a blogger or trade pub editor and would like to review ForeFlight Mobile 2.1, contact us for more information on obtaining access to evaluation copies.

Filed under: ForeFlight Mobile, Update | 3 Comments »

ForeFlight 2.0.3 released

Posted on September 30, 2008 by foreflight

Apple just posted the latest version of ForeFlight Mobile to the App Store!  This update includes quite a few changes.

Here’s a list of the main ones:

  • Corrected database updating problem for v2.0.2
  • Complete rewrite of “AF/D” view provides much easier and faster browsing of airports
  • Complete rewrite of “Recents” views to make them more responsive.  NOTE: your previous/old list of “recents” will be cleared out when applying this update
  • Complete rewrite of “Weather” view (renamed “Imagery”).  Now more responsive.  Also added Europe and South Africa imagery.
  • Improved location aware search view when in more rural areas
  • Improved flight rules determination for weather reports
  • Removed need to provide DUATS account information
  • New aircraft color-picker for Flight Plan form
  • Performance improvement when searching for airport by identifier
  • Now handles network availability changes more gracefully

To upgrade to the newest version please delete ForeFlight from your phone and re-purchase it.  You will not be charged for purchasing the same application twice – just make sure you use the same iTunes account.

Filed under: File, ForeFlight Mobile, Update | 1 Comment »

ForeFlight File! – Flight Plan Filing, ForeFlight style!

Posted on February 3, 2008 by foreflight

The team is pleased – well, we’re doing backflips we’re so excited – to announce the beta release of a feature we have been working on for quite some time now:

ForeFlight File! 

ForeFlight File!

Filed plans listingFile! is the first flight plan filing application for the iPhone to hit the market and it is integrated with ForeFlight’s AF/D, weather and logbook features.  File! is relief for iPhone toting pilots who have been clamoring for a competent filing application that takes advantage of the iPhone’s unique user interface capabilities.    

File! allows pilots (with a valid CSC DUATS account) to create, save, edit, and file flight plans with the FAA. File! keeps track of every flight plan you’ve filed so that you can use any historical flight as a template for a new one.  It also builds a database of aircraft you use in the background so that you don’t have to go through a “setup” process to get started.  Just log in and start filing, and File! intelligently figures out how YOU fly.    
 
We’re especially proud of how easy it is to use – it works hard so that you can file plans on-the-go with minimal fuss. No more waiting on hold with 800-WX-BRIEF for 15 minutes – just tap and file! You’ll be able to see your filed flight in File! and we’ll also send you a confirmation via email.

Flight Plan editing

Want to try it out? You’ll need a DUATS account login as well as a ForeFlight account. Once you have those two fly on over to the beta sign up form to join our testers group. Then just log in to ForeFlight like normal and click on the new “More” link at the top. Click the File! icon to get started. 

Keep in mind that during the beta period you may experience bugs here and there so please stick with us as we sort them out. Make sure you give us feedback on File! so we know what you like and what you don’t!

Filed under: Beta, File, Update | Comments Off